In Spring 2013, a partnership of 26 states (not including Connecticut) released the Next Generation Science Standards for grades kindergarten through 12. These states worked with the National Research Council, National Science Teachers Association, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and nonprofit education reform organization Achieve to develop the standards. Education Week reports that, nine months after their release, only eight of the partner states and the District of Columbia have formally adopted the new science standards.
The partner states had hoped that most states would adopt the science standards, which emphasize science concepts and processes and ask students to apply their knowledge through scientific experiments, investigations, and engineering design. However, many states have hesitated out of fear of education reform overload. Since the majority of states are currently in the process of implementing the Common Core State Standards in the disciplines of English language arts and mathematics, many states fear that additional changes in other subjects will simply be too much for school districts and teachers to handle.
Other reasons given for states’ hesitancy include a lack of federal financial incentives, similar to those offered under the Race to the Top Program; obstacles presented by specific legislative or regulatory processes, such as statutory schedules for adopting and revising school standards; and the time needed to develop new student assessment tools to accompany the standards. Proponents of the science standards remain hopeful that widespread adoption will eventually occur.
